11 Tips To Strengthen Your Network

PLUS: The power of volunteering, don’t use this job search approach, how to opt out of LinkedIn’s AI data collection, the truth about interviews, and more!

Author

Hannah Morgan
September 28, 2025

Welcome to Career Essentials, where I share actionable insights and curated articles that will help accelerate your career and supercharge your job search.

11 Tips To Strengthen Your Network

Your existing network is made up of people you know personally and professionally. Don’t discount your personal contacts just because they don’t know what you do for work. I’m sure they would love to help if they could. 

The truth is, both your personal and professional contacts would offer to help you in your job search if they knew how. Keep in mind that they may not remember you are still searching for a new opportunity. 

Staying in touch does not mean you have to highlight your job search in every conversation. What nurturing your network means is giving more than you get! At some point, you may need to ask one someone in your network for advice, information, or a recommendation. This will be much easier if you’ve been staying in touch. (Start today!)

These ideas will help make networking a habit. One that you will want to use all the time, not just during job search. 

Here are ideas to help you stay in touch and show you care. 

1. Send Holiday Greetings for Less Popular Holidays

Everyone sends a holiday card in December. Don’t get lost in the crowd. Instead, send holiday greetings for off-holidays, such as Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, or Groundhog Day. Or pick a more unusual holiday, such as National Gumdrop Day or National Cat Day, as an excuse to send your holiday wishes.

2. Recognize Birthdays

Social media's prompting makes it easier to remember to send birthday cheer. However, some of your contacts may not have shared this important date on a social profile, and so this important day can slip through the cracks. Be sure to note birthdays on your personal calendar. Why not go a step further and send birthday cards through the mail? 

3. Create Your Very Own E-Newsletter

Why would you have a personal e-newsletter? Because the technology is easy, and it's good personal branding. Your monthly or quarterly e-newsletter should be useful to your readers. For example, if many of your connections are in the tech industry, share current news about new gadgets or reviews of new technology from reputable sources. Don’t forget to include personal updates, such as major milestones, ongoing education or training, events you’ve attended, or projects you are working on.

You can send a simple email; just be sure you blind copy recipients to protect privacy. And never spam people by adding them to your mailing list without permission or the option to opt-out.

4. Say Congratulations

When your contacts are mentioned or published in the news, congratulate them on their good public relations. You can use Google Alerts to customize the news updates on people and companies in your network.

5. Send a Token

For extra-special people, consider sending a book you know they’ll enjoy. If you are looking for less expensive alternatives, you could send a virtual Amazon gift card or gift card to their favorite coffee shop or lunch spot.

If you both love to travel, send a postcard from your next trip that says, "Wish You Were Here." Or bring back some swag from a conference, send it to a colleague with a message about your takeaways from the event.

6. Turn Bad Into Good

Remember that job you were a runner-up for? Or that potential client that didn’t come through? Don’t give up. One way to stay top of mind is to send your contact a follow-up email or letter about three months after the new hire started or after the deal went through. Sincerely express your hope that all is going well and that you are always open to future conversations.

7. Share Useful News

Sending a message that says, “Just checking in!” can feel like a waste of time for you and the person receiving it. Instead, share relevant news. Perhaps there are changes in regulations or policies within the industry; why not share these with those in your network who need to know? 

8. Pick Up The Phone

Sometimes, just picking up the phone for a quick check-in can be a welcome surprise. Try calling first thing in the morning, at lunch, or at the end of the day, when people are more likely to be near the phone and not in meetings. If you get voicemail, leave a short message with your name and phone number, and explain why you are calling.

9. Write a Recommendation

LinkedIn is the perfect platform to recommend a past colleague, service provider, or client. When someone receives an unsolicited recommendation, it is a welcome surprise.

10. Connect People

Do you know two people you think would benefit from meeting each other? Be a matchmaker and introduce them. Send one email to both people and explain why you think they would benefit from meeting. Provide enough information so each person can understand the potential of the relationship and know how to research and contact one another.

11. Invite Along

The next time you receive an invitation to an event or fundraiser, consider inviting one of your contacts to join you. This may serve as an incentive for you to attend if you were on the fence. Plus, it’s a chance to spend more time with your contact. 

Tips To Make Networking Possible

In order to network, you need to have a couple of systems in place. Remember, networking is a long-term strategy. It's one way you'll manage your career in the future. 

Get Organized

Create your database now. Add important information about your network contacts like birthdays, names of partners/spouses, children, college attended, organizations, interests, favorite food, and so on. You can use a formal customer relationship management system, a simple Excel spreadsheet or your email/phone contacts.

Carve Out Time

Put reminders to send outreach and important dates on your calendar. Here are some suggestions:

  • Weekly: Check LinkedIn and Facebook notifications for work anniversaries and birthdays.

  • Monthly: Plan who you will reach out to each month. Think about who you can help and/or who you should touch base with. Use one of the ideas from above. 

  • Annually: Evaluate the strength of your network. Have you done enough to stay in touch?

This may be one of the greatest posts all year! It’s about using those AI tools to mass-apply. DON’T even think about it. Read why in Bob’s post. And if you read through the comments, you’ll see that recruiters and career professionals agree that this is a bad idea. 

I will note the one brave job seeker who said they’ve been tempted to try such a service after being frustrated and demotivated by the results they’ve gotten so far.  

It’s not easy, but when you target companies, build relationships, and find inside connections, you’ll see much better results!

This is such a simple (and relatively easy) tactic! End your week by adding a calendar reminder to follow up with an email to every application you sent out this week. 

(How long should you wait? A week is good.) Your purpose for following up is to make sure they received it, ask what their timeframe is for scheduling interviews and making a final decision, and remind them why you are qualified and interested in the role!

🤝 NETWORKING

This is a story of how volunteering led to an unexpected outcome. Volunteering has many benefits for job seekers - it gives you purpose, gets you out of the house, and you may make a new friend (who refers you for speaking gigs or a job).

💻 LINKEDIN

First, definitely TURN OFF LinkedIn’s ability to use your data. You can easily access your data privacy settings for that here: https://www.linkedin.com/mypreferences/d/settings/data-for-ai-improvement

(I discovered this page labeled “Top Content  Artificial Intelligence  Navigating AI Risks” during a Google search. I have no idea what “top content” is or how LinkedIn selects it. But I did notice there were other “topics” to explore. This seems like a “secret” or “hidden” part of LinkedIn. Have you come across this while searching outside of LinkedIn?)

🗨 INTERVIEWING

You may not want to hear this but… the most qualified person doesn’t always get the job. What are you doing during the job interview to:

  • Come across a likable? 

  • Build a relationship? 

  • Let them feel they can trust you? 

⚙ AI

In this post Glenn lists 6 job search prompts. These may be worth testing yourself. And for the full list of top career-related prompts on ChatGPT, go here. ChatGPT says the prompts come from “[m]ore than 70 college students across North America created and ranked these chats in our ChatGPT Lab. 

If you have some extra time on your hands, or even if you don’t, you can take advantage of LinkedIn Learning’s limited-time (Nov. 22, 2025 ) courses. AI is a powerful differentiator for job seekers. Granted, you won’t be ready to be the Head of Machine Learning; however, you will learn enough to speak intelligently. 

🔮 WORKFORCE

The cost to attract the best and brightest may be out of reach for smaller companies. And not just in the tech industry but in healthcare and other key sectors. Will this lead to a slowing of the economy? Will some companies be forced to offshore parts of their business to access the right workers? One thing is certain. It’s causing greater uncertainty among CEOs. 

If you are a student, this change may require you to return to your home country after you graduate. If so, consider following this advice by Jan Tegze: Why A Bilingual LinkedIn Profile Helps You Get Hired

  • 68% of Gen Z workers said they wouldn't pursue management if it weren't for the paycheck or title, according to a recent Glassdoor survey.

  • Current grads are taking jobs in traditionally stable industries such as healthcare, skilled trades, government, and education. (This may also be because these industries have labor shortages and are doing more hiring.)

  • Gen Z workers are also taking steps to diversify their income streams. 57% of Gen Z currently have a side hustle compared to 48% of Millennials, 31% of Gen X-ers, and 21% of Boomers. 

See other preferences Gen Z workers are migrating towards. 

💰 CAREER

Do you have imposter syndrome? Lack self-confidence? One of the first steps is to identify the truth behind these feelings (or your situation). The concept of F L U (feelings, label, uncover underlying belief) is useful. It’s a great conversation about the topics in Linda’s upcoming book plus they discuss: 

  • Shifting limiting beliefs so you stop underselling and start owning your value

  • Using simple energetic practices to attract aligned opportunities with less push

  • Building authentic confidence that helps you shine without burning out

JOB SEARCH VISUAL

Not landing second interviews? 🤔 Here's why...

You're not clearly showing:

✨ Your qualifications
✨ Your personality
✨ The value you bring

The fix? Keep answers under 2 minutes and practice like your career depends on it (because it does! 💯)

Your interview skills = the ONE thing you can actually control 🎯

Free tools to level up your game:

🎙️ Teal AI Interview Practice (https://www.tealhq.com/tools/ai-interview-practice)
🎙️ Google's Interview Warmup (https://grow.google/certificates/interview-warmup/)
🎙️ Yoodli AI Interview Prep (https://yoodli.ai/use-cases/interview-preparation)

AI interview prep tools

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